Not for a Long Time
by Uozumi
Summary: Late one night, a very young Peter asks his uncle Ben questions about what his parents are doing in Heaven. movieverse


**Title** _Not for a Long Time_  
**Author** Uozumi  
**Genre** Death/General/Hurt-Comfort  
**Rating** G  
**Disclaimer** I do not own nor pretend to own the characters and places contained within. This is an act of fandom and I make no profit from it.  
**Summary** Late one night, a very young Peter asks his uncle Ben questions about what his parents are doing in Heaven. movie-verse

**_Not for a Long Time_**

The boy jolted up in bed, letting out a scream before sticking his hand in his mouth. He didn't want to wake his aunt and uncle up again. They were as old as some of his playmates' grandparents and he didn't like the look they gave him when he woke like this. The four-year-old sniffed and wiped his nose on the back of his hand. He missed them and he knew he was forgetting them.

He slipped off the bed and sat on the floor listening. He strained his ears and satisfied that neither his uncle Ben or aunt May was up and coming to check on him, he stood up, deciding to go downstairs.

The two story New York home was spooky at night. Peter swallowed and tried to go down the stairs as quietly as he could. He looked into the front room as he went towards the kitchen and then looked away. It was dark and the shadows cast by the street lamp made it spookier than he thought it would be. He sped up slightly to get into the kitchen.

The kitchen was darker than the front room and Peter wondered which was scarier. He was too short to reach the light switch and the dining chairs were too heavy to carry without making noise. He still hand his hand in his mouth and whimpered slightly. The kitchen was too dark. It could use a nightlight just like his room had.

The light came on and the little boy jumped. Turning around, his blue eyes widened as he looked up into his uncle's eyes.

"Can't sleep, Pete?" Uncle Ben asked in his quiet and pleasant tone. He was nine years older than Peter's dad, but Peter thought their eyes were similar. Well, if he was remembering his dad's eyes right.

The little boy shook his head. He couldn't lie to his Uncle Ben. Every time he tried, his uncle seemed to see right through it. He asked Aunt May once why that was, and she told Peter that he acted almost exactly like how his father acted. He then took his fingers out of his mouth abruptly. Gwen Stacy, one of his playmates, told him that if he kept putting his fingers in his mouth like that, they would never grow and he'd look really silly. She said her mother told her that. He didn't want to look silly, the boys in the play group made fun of him enough as it was.

"Want something to drink?" Uncle Ben moved over to the refrigerator. He saw Peter nod and he took out a carton of milk. Pouring two glasses, he set them on the kitchen table as Peter climbed into the chair with his booster seat in it.

A long silence passed between them as Peter gulped down his milk. Finally he set the glass down and looked over at his uncle Ben, fidgeting slightly. After a bit, he finally managed a timid voice. "Uncle Ben...?"

"Yes, Pete?" Uncle Ben looked over at him with that ever-patient look in his eyes.

Peter swallowed and then asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can."

Peter poked at his milk glass for a moment and then asked in a subdued voice, "Where's Mom and Dad?"

There was a silence and then the man in his fifties leaned back in his chair. He began to think deeply, and Peter wondered if he should have asked the question at all. Finally, Uncle Ben put his hands on the table and spoke, his voice gentle and very quiet. "They're in Heaven."

"I know..." Peter murmured, "but where in Heaven?" He was poking his milk glass, again trying not to put his fingers in his mouth.

Uncle Ben grew quiet again, searching for an answer. He wanted to come up with them faster, but Peter was asking rather hard questions, especially for three in the morning. "Well, they're in a nice place," he paused, "right where they can watch you."

"Watch me...?" Peter looked up at his uncle. 

"Yes," Uncle Ben replied, nodding. "They're watching you."

"Like how I watch _Ghostbusters_?" Peter gave him a confused look.

"Not exactly," Uncle Ben said.

"Will they always be watching me?" Peter asked. "I mean, it's got to get boring after a while." He thought _Ghostbusters_ was very exciting and loved watching it. If watching him wasn't like watching _Ghostbusters_, then he thought his parents might grow bored after a while.

"Yes, they'll always be watching you." Uncle Ben gave Peter a soft smile.

Peter went back to poking his glass. He didn't want to cry in frong of Uncle Ben again, but it hurt. After a bit, he swallowed and then looked over at Uncle Ben. "Won't they get bored?"  
Uncle Ben blinked and then shook his head. "No, they won't get bored." He paused and then added, "You see, you're more exciting than _Ghostbusters_."

Peter glanced at him dubiously. "How can I be more exciting than _Ghostbusters_? I don't fight stuff or anything."

"You don't have to fight things to be exciting," Uncle Ben explained. "To them, watching you is the most exciting thing there is. They want to see what happens to you next. They want to know what kind of man you'll become, and they want to know all about you."

Peter sniffed. "Then..." He swallowed. He didn't want to cry, but tears werre streaming. "Then why did they leave?"

Uncle Ben motioned Peter over and hoisted him into his lap with a "oof" noise. He hugged Peter tightly and smoothed the boy's hair. "They didn't want to leave, but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do." He rocked Peter slightly as he spoke gently. "God works in mysterious ways."

Peter sniffed, speaking through sobs. "Then will you leave too, Uncle Ben? Are you going to go like them?"

Uncle Ben debated the answer and then he nodded. "Someday I will go, Pete, but not for a long time."

"How do you know?" Peter hugged him tighter. He didn't want to lose his uncle.

Uncle Ben looked down at the floor a moment. He wasn't sure what to say next. He finally spoke quietly. "I just do." He hoped that would soothe the boy.

Peter sniffled again and then wiped his nose with the back of his hand. He swallowed and then looked up at Uncle Ben before nodding.

"Let's get you a tissue and then back to bed you go." Uncle Ben lifted him off his lap and set Peter down before standing. He crossed the kitchen and grabbed up a box of tissues before handing two to Peter. "Wipe your eyes and blow your nose."

The boy did so and set then threw them away when Uncle Ben reminded him to do so rather than leave the used tissues on the kitchen table. He then rinsed out their milk glasses, setting them in the sink, before turning back to Peter. "Alright, off to bed with you."

They climbed the stairs and Uncle Ben followed his nephew into his room, tucking him in.

"Uncle Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for crying," Peter wimpered.

"Don't be sorry." Uncle Ben shook his head, smoothing out Peter's hair. "Do you need anything?"

Peter shook his head and tried not to put his fingers in his mouth.

"Alright then," Uncle Ben said and then he moved to the door. "Good night, Pete."

"Good night, Uncle Ben." Peter watched his uncle disappear and then he rolled over, facing the wall.

_"Then will you leave too, Uncle Ben? Are you going to go like them?"_

"Someday I will go, Pete, but not for a long time."

Peter stuck his fingers in his mouth and then took them back out. He wondered how long that "long time" would be.

**The End**


End file.
